Cryohelmet Review: A 3 Year Perspective

***Disclaimer: I was originally gifted this product in 2014 for testing purposes. All opinions are my own***

Over the past 30 years, I’ve sampled a wide variety of products geared towards people living with migraine. Finding relief, even if it’s only temporary, can make a world of difference for a person facing intolerable amounts of pain. Whether it was based on the company's claims or testimonies of reliable sources, I’m always up for testing a new item without harmful side effects.

In my online quest to find a reliable and safer alternative to lessen or eliminate head pain, I came across the Catalyst™ Cryohelmet website.

So, what is a Catalyst™ Cryohelmet?

It is a device that applies targeted cold therapy to the head. With proper use your Catalyst helmet may be effective in reducing inflammation from head injuries, lowering body heat, and lessening migraine pain.

I was immediately sold on the idea of a helmet that could lessen migraine pain. Well, that and the part about staying cold for up to 90 minutes while wearing it. For those of us that endure debilitating symptoms during a migraine attack, the very last thing you want to do is move around. Not having to run back and forth to the freezer to replace a depleted gel pack every few minutes would truly be a blessing.

I didn’t waste any time reaching out to the company to share my current situation with chronic migraine and, shortly after, received a complimentary helmet to test out.

I felt like a kid on Christmas day the moment UPS showed up with my Cyrohelmet. I didn’t waste any time ripping open that box to see that it included the following:

• Neoprene Shell
• CryoMax™ Cold Packs in UltraCool™ fabric pouches with Velcro
• Insulated carry bag and CryoMAX™ square to keep Cryo-Helmet frozen for hours

I immediately tossed my new helmet in the freezer so that it would be ready the very second I needed it, which would be in the evening.

During the first night of using my Cryohelmet, I was fighting a level 7 migraine attack that included aura, nausea, being lightheaded and my head throbbing non-stop. I slipped the helmet on then tightened it as much as it would get and waited for some type of relief to kick in. Within a half hour, I managed to fall asleep with my helmet still on. Four hours later I woke up without feeling nauseous or lightheaded and, best of all, minimal head pain.

I was quite impressed with my first go-around of this product. I loved that I could get out of bed and walk around the house without the helmet falling off my head. I could never get those gel packs with those plastic straps to stay in place for long. I even added extra Velcro straps to those things only to have them fall off the second I tossed or turned in bed.

If day 1 went that smoothly, I wondered how my Cryohelmet would hold up the next time I needed it for migraine relief. The very next day I got my answer when woke up to stabbing pain on the right side of my head with dizziness so severe I couldn’t move without making it worst. Luckily, my daughter had placed the helmet back in the freezer while I slept. It was at the perfect temperature to be effective enough to lessen my head pain to a tolerable state.

Because I have chronic migraines, that means I spend at least 15 or more days dealing with various symptoms. The three symptoms I often experienced during each migraine attack were dizziness, nausea, and head pain. My Cryohelmet helped to manage my attacks which meant spending less time stuck in bed and more time doing things with my family. How could you not love a product with those wonderful capabilities?

Once I became well enough to travel long distances again, I discovered that the Catalyst™ Cyrohelmet was airport friendly. I’ve gone through several TSA checkpoints around the U.S. carrying my helmet inside the insulated bag provided by the company with no issues. I’ve even used my Cryohelmet while on the plane. It helped me to relax and experience less head pressure, making the rest of the flight more bearable.

Cryohelmet came to my daughter’s rescue after she developed a terrible ear infection. This infection quickly caused her to have a high temperature that eventually skyrocketed to 103 degrees. Not only did the CryoMax™ Cold Packs inside the helmet soothe her ear pain, it lowered her temperature and kept it below 100° the rest of that night. Even our family physician was impressed at the fact the helmet was more effective than the fever-reducing medications she received.

I even began using my Cryohelmet in the 15 minutes leading up to each of my Cluster Headache attacks. I found it helped me to be in a more calmer state of mind. For anyone that has endured these horrific beasts of a headache understands you become desperate and any type of relief is welcomed.

After I learned my son developed chronic migraine, the team over at Cryohelmet shipped a helmet for him to test out. My teen noted a decrease in head pain within the first half hour. As a matter of fact, he prefers to use his Cryohelmet over his migraine abortives. There are no strange side effects with icing your head and it helps him to relax a bit more too.

My son not only uses his Cryohelmet during a migraine attack, he wears it to cool down after football practice and games. Between lifting weights and running plays it's easy for any athlete to get overheated. My teen knows the importance of icing his head and now so do his teammates.

Within the last two years, Cryohelmet has graciously donated a total of 5 helmets to my son’s middle and high school football department. Although my teen is currently the only person with the migraine disease on the team, a few of the players discovered the amazing benefits of using the Cryohelmets during the hotter temperature days. Just knowing my child and his teammates have a product specifically designed for head injuries on the sidelines puts my mind a bit more at ease.

What more can I possibly say about a company that has followed my teen and I through our journey of living with migraine and cluster headaches, other than if they put that much thought into two of their customer’s well-being, then imagine how much time and effort went into the development of their line of products for potential customers.

To learn more about Catalyst Cryohelmet, visit their website.